Search engine optimization is apparently alive, evolving and now expected to solve branding, artificial-intelligence discovery, attribution modeling and possibly your company’s unresolved emotional issues. That’s one takeaway from a new
reportby Yoast, the WordPress SEO company that surveyed 59 SEO professionals about the state of search in 2026.
The report reads like a support group for marketers trying to explain to their chief financial officer why organic traffic is down even though “visibility” is up. In other words, welcome to modern digital media.
About half of respondents, or 51%, said SEO is “evolving” rather than dying, while another 33% said it’s “thriving.” Only about 10% said it’s declining.